In words of a great master, Yogi Berra, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll be lost when you get there.” Choosing a career is setting off on a path which is completely a personal call. Mix passion along with a healthy reality check and you will know your zeros from the hundreds. Do not be misguided if you are not sure about your initial options since choosing a career path in college is like setting of an arc and it will change more or less as you progress through it, your options, changing and colliding until you can finally decide on a single thing.
With that message in mind, here are 10 tips for deciding on your career path, beginning from college:
1. Don’t let anyone put your hopes down
If you have a big dream, go all out with it and follow it right to the end. If the risks are too high, your back up plan should be even stronger. This will allow you to grow in a multiple ways, wherein you can not only focus your energy on pursuing your dream but also supporting it if there are any unseen drawbacks in the future.
2. Always distinguish between a childhood dream and a childhood job
Make sure as to what you are getting into. If you have always wanted to be a fashion designer, know not only the flowery aspects of fame but also the sheer hours of hard work that come into it.
3. Make a living
It is all glossy to have a dream job set in your head but it will do no good if it doesn’t round up paying your meals off. You not only have to pick up something that you are madly passionate about, but also something that can give you the standard of living you aspire to live.
4. Do not get stuck up with part time jobs
Rather aim at carrying forward those experiences to enhance your resume and which will in turn allow you to be a part of the profession you have always wanted to grow in. Taking part time experiences is a way of learning how to deal with a full time aspect of a similar vocation.
5. Be mature enough to separate your vocation from an avocation
An avocation is a hobby, which does not require the time-bound commitment and seriousness of a full time vocation. To be able to distinguish between the two requires maturity and long sightedness by the individual. So choose a career that you are ready to grow in through all your life and let it choose you equally.
6. Learning by doing
This is a golden way to step ut into the practicality of the world. Textbooks can take you only till here, but taking up internships outside the school premises will allow you to make yourself a part of the professional world which you are planning to major in. This will give you a clear idea of what exactly you are looking at and if you want to head on this path completely.
Ultimately, do what you love. Even if your parents want you to graduate from a great PGDM course for example, make sure you know it is exactly what you want to do. Before trying to keep others happy, make sure you are rather satisfied in your choice and it is something you are really passionate about. Because in the end, it is your career and you will be spending a long time making and living it and if you are not thoroughly happy, you will not be able to taste sweet success.
George Munchkins is a PGDM course graduate who is affiliated with a lot of educational groups all across France. He believes that selecting a vocation is all about a balance between the heart and the mind and it is more or less like choosing a path of life that will guarantee you inner peace.